A new report published by the science journal eLife looked at over 1400 studies on the height of people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 different countries, and the findings don’t place the USA in high standing.

The tallest are Dutch men, who currently clock in at a mean height of nearly 183 centimeters (roughly 6 feet tall). The shortest are Guatemalan women, at 140 centimeters, (4-foot-7).

Americans, on average, fall somewhere in the middle at 5-foot-9 ½-inches for men, and 5-foot-4 ¹/₂-inches for women. That wasn’t always the case — before World War II, Americans were among the tallest in the world. But over the past 60 years, growth slowed in the US while it accelerated in Northern and Western Europe.

The biggest jumps in growth were found in South Korea, where women gained an average of 20.2 centimeters (8 inches), over the past century, and Iran, where men grew by roughly 16.5 centimeters (6 ½ inches).

But America isn’t the only country whose citizens haven’t grown all that much: Growth was slow in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa as well. And while nearly all 200 countries saw an increase in height over the last century, the mean height actually dropped in certain areas of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

The authors chalk up the differences in growth rate to a combination of genetics, nutrition and disease prevalence. South Koreans grew taller as their economy boomed, making food more available and healthcare more available, while malnutrition in Africa stunted growth.

But America’s stalling growth seems to be a modern problem: As our diet turned toward processed fast food, prioritizing convenience over nutrition, growth slowed.
While the average American may not be that tall, at least New York City is home to its fair share of exceptionallylong-legged women.